Class Notes | 1970s

Our 45th Reunion is now history, and those who attended will concur that it was great fun. The campus was beautiful, and it was great to see old friends, even if we all seem to be getting older and kvetchier. Considering the alternative, that’s not such a bad thing. So here are my random recollections, with apologies in advance to any attendees I may have omitted.

I arrived at Wesleyan on Friday, and camped out by registration to see who was checking in. Thus, I got some time with Jim Shepherd, Steve Goldschmidt, Steve Lewis, Dennis Kesden, Mike Busman, Bruce Throne, and others. At our class welcoming reception at the Stew Reid House we had our only weekend visits with some true notables—Wesleyan President Emeritus Colin Hon.’89 and Nancy Campbell MALS’80 (who have nothing but wonderful memories of us—or so they say), and Chip Goodrich.

Friday dinner was an extraordinary event, thanks to the labors of Andy Feinstein.  We took over O’Rourke’s Diner for the occasion, and Brian O’Rourke prepared an elaborate tasting menu for us. Only one dish vaguely resembled a steamed cheeseburger, and the “BYOB” policy led to some fine pairings. My table sipped a marvelous Walt Wines pinot noir, and there were various other wines and single malt scotches passed around. Leon Vinci presented Brian with a copy of Brian’s cookbook, autographed by us.

So it’s fitting to mention two who were unfortunately NOT in attendance. Mike Carlson, 45 minutes before his cab was due to arrive to take him to the airport in London, realized that he had forgotten to renew his passport. (Further comment from me would be superfluous—not that it has stopped me in the past.) Hank Shelton’s plane (after his original flight was cancelled) hit a bird one hour out of Memphis, whereupon that flight, too, was cancelled, thereby making it impossible for Hank to get to Wes in time. We truly missed them.

Most of us managed to be there for the alumni parade, noting that we are getting that much closer to the front. There followed an afternoon of hanging around on Foss Hill and attending seminars and film presentations. Our class seminar, entitled “Sustainability, Climate Change, and Energy in an Era of Alternative Facts” (title credit to Bruce Throne) featured Bruce Throne, Bonnie Blair, Stew Reid, and yours truly. We all laid out a mixed message of innovation vying with aggressive administration retrogression. What can we do about this, many asked, and the best response was that individual and grassroots actions still count for a great deal. Thanks, I guess, to Peter Hicks for posing a question about the ban of fracking in New York State, my honest answer to which earned me the opprobrium of most of the crowd. And the record will show that Stew was the only one of us explicitly to call for removal of the president.

From there to our class dinner, which was a raging success, thanks to the efforts of Mike Kaloyanides, Blake Allison, Steve Blum, and Mike Kishbauch, a.k.a. Blackwall Hitch, who performed the 19 top songs of our college years, from “Time Has Come Today” to “Honky Tonk Women.” Word got around campus that the ’72 party was the place to be, and by evening’s end we had quite a crowd. We cannot thank the four of them enough for their efforts—they were fabulous, and we’ll all have wonderful memories of their performance for a long time.

Bonnie Blair was an admirable MC. And thanks to those who joined with me in expressing brief tributes to recently departed classmates. Some found it mawkish, but it’s important. Thanks to Steve Goldschmidt, Blake Allison, Rich Easton, Bob White, Steve Berman, and Marjorie Melnick.

Richard Kolotkin filled me in on the past 45 years, although he was not able to come for Reunion. He got his PhD in psychology from the University of Minnesota, and spent the bulk of his career at Moorhead, both teaching at Minnesota State University and in the private practice of psychology.

He wrote, “Over the years, I have published a marriage self-help book and a number of research-based articles. One of these was a study that compared relationship satisfaction as it emerged in committed relationships in real life to the satisfaction experienced in online amorous relationships between two “committed” avatars on a massive online game called Second Life. This generated a bit of a buzz when the data showed that significantly more women were more satisfied with their virtual lover than they were with the man with whom they had a committed, real life relationship.”

Now fully retired, Rich and Deidre, his wife of almost 40 years, plan to reinvent themselves “in a warmer part of the world in new ways that nurture both spirit and soul.”

Next Reunion is our 50th. Be there. Renew your passports now. No excuses will be accepted. For those of you who keep saying you’ll be there “next time,” this is it.

Seth A. Davis | sethdavis@post.harvard.edu
213 Copper Square Drive, Bethel, CT 06801

Here are notes I received this time. Forgive the harsh editing to get the notes to fit.

Chase Van Gorder had open heart surgery and is doing well. He has relocated to Minneapolis. Keeps in regular contact with Jed Marshall, High Heermans, Phil Rauch, and Bruce Fergusson ’73. Blake Allison relates, “Missed Reunion because I was on a two-month coast-to-coast road trip.” He had a great stay in Oakland with Kathryn and Morgan Muir ’73. Also joining the party were Peter Stern ’72 and Mitch Grashin ’70.

Bill Bruner says, “We had our first grandchild a year ago. He’s the son of my son Andrew Bruner ’04. Daughter Amanda ’02 was married recently. I’m still working doing medical ophthalmology in my private practice. I retired from the VA here after 35 years of teaching, research, and clinical work there.”

Jim RePass continues to work in conservation/alternative energy/alternative transportation, as I have since the 1970s. His current project is called Transit X, a technology that actually is pretty exciting, and is designed to make automobile use unnecessary in cities and suburbs.

Ed Swanson says, “In April I got together with Jim Redwood, a member of our freshman class who later transferred. Jim teaches securities law at Albany Law School. He and I spoke on the phone with Chuck Lucier ’70.” While his primary focus is corporate and securities law, Ed is now managing director of SMI Group LLC, and president of its broker-dealer subsidiary, SMI Capital Markets.

Steve Voorhies became Facebook friends with Mark Merlis, who has published several novels. Dave Lindorff says daughter Ariel ’05 is having her graduation (called supplication!) in July from Oxford with a PhD in education. She’s already publishing a lot and hoping to land a job at the same school as her partner, a Brit named James. Filmmaker son Jed is living in Baltimore with his girlfriend. Steve is writing for High Times and Salon, plus his own collectively-run news site Thiscantbehappening.net.

Vic Pfeiffer is retired and is involved with four organizations in Chestertown, Md. Daughter Alex ’06, along with his son-in-law and two granddaughters (ages 9 months and 2-1/2 years) live in San Diego. He gets together with five other Wesleyan friends—brother Steve ’69, Rick Ketterer ’69, John Stinchfield ’69, Jerry Parker ’69, and Marc Pickard ’70.

Fran Pawlowski encourages all to make the 50th Reunion in 2021.

Robert Beardslee writes, “This is my first contribution to the class notes. I am a bit out of the way here in a small country town north of Sydney, where I live with my Australian wife, Margaret. Taught kids with learning difficulties (I had one at Wes!) for years, and now concentrate on athletes with disabilities. My running career is over now due to osteoarthritis. However, I have kept physically active restoring antique cars and riding my mountain bike.”

From Andrew Glantz: “Since finishing my term as the president of the board of trustees of The Furniture Society, I have been concentrating on work in my shop. I had a hip replaced in March and hope that this and a few other tweaks allow me to be a bit more active this year than last.”

Katy Butler and Brian Donohue are set to be married on June 11 in their backyard in Mill Valley, Calif. “We’ve been living together for 17 years, so it’s not only a wedding, but a celebration of our continuing and deepening bond. We are continually amazed and grateful for our lives together.” Brian is a former hospital equipment salesman who now has a lot more fun working as a professional musician, leading singalongs in nursing home and retirement centers. Katy is writing her second book—about navigating medicine through old age, sickness, and death.

From Bill Boulware: “I am a ‘trophy husband’ now that I’ve pretty much retired. I cheer my wife on in her many endeavors and take care of the household. I try to convince myself that working out is fun, but I know I’m lying. And I’ve reached the ‘maintenance’ stage where multiple doctors are keeping an eye on things, waiting for the final breakdown I suppose. If I were a car I would have traded this body in a long time ago. But given what happens to many our age, I’m very grateful for many things.”

Joe Keller is living on Cape Cod and has a condo in Florida. Still active in commercial real estate company. Two grandchildren in Malibu, Calif. Just won a Massachusetts super senior golf tournament.

Alvin and Cynthia James are living in Cedar Hill, just south of Dallas. Cynthia serves as executive director of education for the Potter’s House of Dallas. Alvin is semi-retired, but serves as executive director of the Metropolitan Economic Development Corporation. At the beginning of 2017, Alvin oversaw the successful completion of a new 142,000-square-foot youth empowerment center building in southwest Dallas. “

That’s it for this time. Aloha.

Neil J. Clendeninn | Cybermad@msn.com
PO Box 1005, Hanalei, HI 96714

Aloha, all. First, my apologies for the late request for news. As far as I can determine, it was attributable to some technical glitch that prevented my receiving the reminder a week or so before a second reminder, which somehow did reach my inbox.

Nonetheless, I had e-mails from a few of our classmates, so here goes.

Charlie Holbrook is starting his 14th year teaching history at Beaufort High School in Beaufort, S.C. “Leslie and I spend June and July at our cottage in South Lyme, Conn., and I am auditing a history course at Wesleyan by Professor Nathanael Greene. He is still teaching and hasn’t missed a step! When the issue of retirement comes up, Leslie reminds me that Professor Greene is still teaching! Once a teacher always a teacher. Also, Gene Legg is teaching at Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn, Va.”

John Sheffield wrote, “Almost 48 years of a great marriage, two happy grown-up daughters, one excellent 4-year-old grandson, recent crewing opportunities on sailing vessels—Honolulu-Vancouver and Houston-New Orleans-Key West-Bahamas—make life worth living.” I have to say I’m a bit envious, John, having wanted to sail like that, but never having done it.

Jim Pickering posted the following on Facebook: “This will sound silly, and I may well have suggested it before, but as quickly as classmates are passing on, and in honor of the fact that our senior year was never completed, why not have our 50th WesTech Reunion a year or two early? Having reconnected with a number of classmates through this medium I think it would be cool to hang out in person, tell lies, and maybe pound a few Budweisers all these years later.” I put it out to you, classmates. What do you think?

Lawrence Madlock wrote: “I retired from the University of Tennessee on February 1. I am going to Ghana for two months to help build a clinic and classroom in a village with Crossroads Africa, the same organization that got me started doing these trips 50 years ago at Wesleyan. My wife, Yvonne MAT’72, just got back from a graduation at Wellesley where we had dinner and pictures with Hillary. My middle daughter got her PhD in clinical psychology from George Washington University. Edwin Sanders ’69 and I visited Thurman Northcross ’71. He’s hanging tough.” Thanks for that update. Our thoughts are with you, Thurman.

Just returned from a semi-annual trip to Maryland to visit with my incredible mom, still active at 94. On the way back, I had some time in Seattle, so I jumped on the light rail to downtown and then walked uphill to visit REI, armed with my 35-year-old REI camera bag purchased at that wonderful old warehouse store. While browsing through what seems to be very upscale stuff for outdoor activities, I was approached by a gentleman who, noticing my Red Sox cap, the team jacket over my arm, and my Wesleyan shirt, asked if I was lost. Turned out to be Silas Wild ’69, one of the incredible group of runners during our Wes years. Silas remembers Bill Rodgers very fondly, mentioned Bill Tam and the other Punahou boys, and spoke well of Dave Davis ’93 and his TV work. He couldn’t shed any light on the whereabouts of his Beta brother Pete Weber, my freshman-year roommate. Moral: Wear your Wesleyan shirt while traveling.

Was unable to see Bill Rodgers in Boston on the way home from the visit in Maryland, he needing to rest after having just run two races, one in Green Bay, Wis., and one in Rutland, Vt. He mentioned that another Wes runner, Bart Wendell, lives nearby. One of these days, I expect Bill to show up for the Kaua’i Marathon.

The trip to see Mom and family began to turn into a baseball odyssey of sorts: Had tickets for a game in Baltimore (versus the Red Sox) a few hours after flying in, then we went to another game a few days later. I already had decided that I needed to address an item that’s long been on my bucket list—get to Fenway Park—so I had booked a flight from Baltimore to Boston as part of my return trip from Maryland. Got to Fenway after a long flight delay. Detroit won that one, so I decided to go to a game the next night, despite my early-morning return flight the following morning. It was a good game, with exactly the same RHE stats well into the game, and it went to the bottom of the 11th inning before Pedroia hit a run-scoring single that brought with it an incredible slide into home plate. Anyway, the lesson learned is two-fold: Follow that dream, even if it means starting a 20-hour travel day on three hours’ sleep, and all the time I spent chasing young women in Boston in our college years was wasted. I’d have been better off going to Fenway for ballgames.

Send news anytime and be well in the meantime.

Russ Josephson | russ_josephson@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 1151, Kilauea, HI 96754

NEWSMAKERS | 1970s NEWSMAKER JIM FRIEDLICH ’79 Jim Friedlich ’79, P’14 was appointed the chief executive officer of The Lenfest Institute for Journalism in Philadelphia. This newly formed Institute has an endowment for investment in technology and innovations that advance the future of journalism. The Institute is also the parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer, a winner of 20 Pulitzer Prizes and now the largest newspaper in America operated as a public-benefit company. Cable mogul and philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest said, “The hiring of Jim Friedlich—one of the most talented and capable thinkers in the business of journalism—will help propel our mission: developing effective models for powerful public-service journalism on a local and regional level in the digital age.” An English major at Wesleyan, Friedlich was chief executive of digital media advisory firm Empirical Media which was purchased by Lenfest. He worked as group publisher of The Wall Street Journal International and was a seed investor in Business Insider.

NEWSMAKERS | 1970s NEWSMAKER ELLIS NEUFELD ’79 Ellis Neufeld ’79, M.D., PhD., was appointed clinical director, physician-in-chief, and executive vice president of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, an internationally renowned center that pioneers research for and offers treatment to children with catastrophic illnesses. St. Jude President and Chief Executive Officer James Downing, M.D., said: “Dr. Neufeld’s leadership and experience will help steer St. Jude clinical operations as we expand our patient care programs, increase the number of patients treated and work to set the standard for pediatric cancer care delivery.” A biology and chemistry major at Wesleyan, Neufeld earned his doctoral degrees at Washington University in St. Louis, with specialty training in pediatrics and medical genetics at Boston Children’s Hospital and in pediatric hematology/oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s.

Class of 1979 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Julian Carraway ’18, Sociology

Gary here, wishing everyone a healthy and happy new year from snowy Holliston, Mass.

It was great to see the DKE house packed once again with revelers for the annual Homecoming post-game party. It was well-attended by alumni from the class of 1964 to 2016 including George DuPaul, Joe Britton, John Papa, Bill Conley, Jack Buckley, Tim Fitzgerald, Dennis Archibald, Scott Karsten ’74, Dave Thomas ’77, Vanessa Burgess ’77, Ralph Rotman ’78, Bill Ahern ’78, Jeff Gray ’77, Steve Imbriglia ’77, Matt Hoey ’78, Shawn McKeown ’77, Gary Sturgis ’77, Peter McArdle ’77, Steve McArdle (legendary DKE chef), Dave Bagatelle ’86, Michael Ruderman ’11, Jeremy Edelberg ’14, Bob Bourne ’80 (my DKE “little brother”), Jack Meier ’69, and Frank Judson ’64, among a plethora of others I’m forgetting. Before the post-game festivities, we watched the Wesleyan Cardinals win the first leg of the Little Three title by beating Amherst before they traveled to Williams a few weeks later to officially capture the crown for the second time in four years. Congratulations to Mike Whalen ’83 and to the many DKE undergraduate brothers who played their hearts out in those games. Well done.

A great time was had by all in celebrating the 60th trip around the sun for John McDermott ’78 in New Jersey with Joe Britton, Tim Fitzgerald, Ralph Rotman ’78, Jeff Gray ’77, Dave Thomas ’77, and Paul Nelson ’78. Many of us will be joyfully embracing? Stoically facing? Unconditionally surrendering to? The milestone this year. I keep reminding myself it’s only a number. How the heck did we get here?

Ellis Neufeld writes: “I actually have news this time, after decades of doing more or less the same thing. Come March, I will move to Memphis to become physician-in-chief at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.” I have tremendous respect for people doing work that makes a significant difference in people’s lives, especially children’s lives. Kudos to you, Ellis.

Jodi Daynard writes that she is still writing: “Hi, there! I’m doing very well! Quit teaching last year. My third novel, A More Perfect Union, is coming out this May (Lake Union). It is the third of a trilogy that began with The Midwife’s Revolt.”

From John Tjia (originally Class of 1976, but took a three-year “gap year”): “I’m at the point in my life and career (executive director at Ernst & Young in New York) where I am starting to think about retiring. My daughter, Leonore, is on her own in San Francisco since graduating from the University of St. Andrews in 2011. My son, Alex, is in his sophomore year at Skidmore College, and my wife, Charlotte Okie, teaches the Alexander Technique in the drama department at the Juilliard School. I am writing the third edition of my book, Building Financial Models, for McGraw-Hill, and I take time out on the weekends to do some oil painting. Does anyone know where Anne Morningstar ’76 is?”

Jim Friedlich was named CEO of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, a non-profit foundation dedicated to the future of sustainable local news. Hong Qu ’99, a digital media entrepreneur, serves on Jim’s board. Jim and Alberto Ibargüen ’66, CEO of the Knight Foundation, announced a major national partnership between their respective organizations to help transform newsrooms around the country by more effective use of digital, mobile, and social platforms.

Joy D’Amore writes: “I head up global talent acquisition at Everest Group, a strategy consulting and research firm focused on global services. I moved to Dallas for the role a year and a half ago. We have offices in Dallas, Toronto, London, and Gurgaon, India. I’d love to connect with others in Dallas: damorej@gmail.com.”

Anne Wilson update: “Moved to San Diego Calif., in 1991 for a job and, to my surprise, stayed. Learning to surf helped. I am proud to be SVP of real estate development at Community HousingWorks, a nonprofit that develops, renovates, and owns apartment homes affordable to low-income working families, seniors and people with disabilities (almost 3,000 apartment homes across the state of California). I regularly hire recent grads with liberal arts degrees because they know how to write, think, research, and analyze problems. I just wish more of them would take a few courses that require quantitative work like statistics and economics.”

Bill Levinson update: “Julie and I finally pulled the plug on the Northeast. We’ve left New Hope, Pa., and moved to Key West. I’m still playing piano full-time down here.”

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

Class of 1978 Endowed Scholarship Fund

Vera Benkoil ’18, Psychology and American Studies

Greetings classmates! Hope 2017 is getting off to a good start for one and all. Susie writes for this issue. Seems many of us are enjoying celebrations of one sort or another these days. 60th birthdays (remember 60 is only a speed limit!), children’s graduations and marriages, not to mention arrivals of precious grandchildren.

Jennifer Atkinson says her biggest news was the birth of her first grandchild, Karlyn Ryan Steinberg, on New Year’s Eve. She added, “Next to her, everything else fades to near insignificance.” Jennifer, a professor at George Mason University, also published her fifth book of poems, The Thinking Eye, this past year.

Bloomberg Professor of Business Journalism Andrea Gabor sent greetings from Havana where she was leading her second group of Baruch College/CUNY journalism students on a study abroad trip exploring Cuba’s rich biodiversity and efforts at developing sustainable agriculture and fisheries. Their first trip was January 2015, just weeks after President Obama and Castro began their détente.

Bill Adler has been living in Tokyo, Japan, for the past two years and is enjoying life as an expat. He’s writing and occasionally publishing books. His novella, No Time to Say Goodbye, is coming out this spring.

Dave Wilson had some good success with his fourth and most recent album, from the Dave Wilson Quartet, There Was Never, which was released on the New York-based ZOHO Music Label in 2015. The album included original music by Dave, a saxophonist, and interpretations of some well-known tunes. The album received radio airplay in 40 different markets across the country, and in 2016 received a nomination for a Grammy by ZOHO for Best Instrumental Jazz Record. Dave lives with his wife, Lisa, in Lancaster, Pa., where in addition to his performance career, he teaches privately, and has a business buying and selling musical instruments. He can be reached at davewilsonmusic.org.

Elizabeth Weiss Ozorak is keeping herself busy and fit! One of her highlights for 2016 was winning the Bronze Freeskate at USA Adult Masters Games last July. She would “love to hear from any other late-blooming athletes and/or adult figure skaters out there!” [eozorak@allegheny.edu]

Jon Spector and his wife, Wendy, enjoy life in Woodstock, Vt., where they moved two years ago when they became empty nesters. Wendy is on ski patrol and is an EMT, while Jon is working in New York at The Conference Board. A small nearby airport allows Jon to make trips to and from the city fairly efficiently. At The Conference Board, he is joined by fellow Wesleyan alumni Moira James and Russell Morris ’87. Alan Dachs ’70 is a trustee and chairman emeritus.

Life in Duxbury is never dull with our toddler grandson (and his parents) living in town. Our oldest just moved to San Francisco and our youngest just graduated from college in December (a semester early!).  As we put our best and most positive feet forward in 2017, I’d like to sign off with these words by John Wesley: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”

Please stay in touch,

Susie Muirhead Bates | sbatesdux@hotmail.com 

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Class of 1976 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Valerie Acosta ’20, Bronx, NY

In addition to personal news, one of the themes for this column is the volunteer work that class members are doing.

Susan Avitzour and her husband, Daniel, just had their fifth grandchild, Gabriel, and Susan has just finished writing a novel. It’s about an American woman who marries a Japanese diplomat, and finds herself posted to Burma/Myanmar when it was still ruled by a brutal military dictatorship. Susan volunteers as a therapist at Hadassah Hospital, which treats Jewish and Arab survivors of terror attacks, military clashes, and accidents who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Andrea Grubb Barthwell attended the Hamilton fundraiser in Chicago and saw many Wesleyan alumni and parents, and some members of the winning Cubs team.

Robert Briskin and his wife, Limor, had a good time at Reunion. Rob has a concierge medical practice and serves on Congressman Pete Sessions’ National Physicians Council for Healthcare Policy in D.C.

Ethan Bronner took a buyout from The New York Times two years ago and has been at Bloomberg ever since, writing, and editing political features. He heads up a team looking into President Trump’s family businesses here and abroad, and would welcome hearing from anyone who has any knowledge about it.

Jon Cleworth recalls his time at Wesleyan, as a rower and CSS member. Jon was a Chicago-area resident for several years. He now lives in Connecticut and is a great uncle with five nieces and a nephew. Retired, he stays in shape mostly by biking.

Oliver Griffith left the World Bank Group and works as a communications advisor for Africa50, an infrastructure fund focused on Africa. He is also freelancing in communications and foreign affairs.

Debra Haffner is the full-time settled minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston. She invites Wes folks to services at 10 a.m. on Sundays.

Daniel Henry’s son, Derrick, and his fiancé, Beata, were married in May. Dan also had his second granddaughter, Denni Jean Henry. Dan is the president of the Kiwanis Club of Newington, which runs a flea market that raises money for scholarships and to support local agencies and human services.

Daniel Herr and his wife, Kathleen, have four grandchildren. Katherine is continuing her work in disability, special education, and elder law, and Dan is in his second term as nanoscience department chair at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, a collaboration between the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University.

Peter Hansen and his wife, Gail, have completed their move to D.C. after several years of Peter commuting between D.C. and Kansas. Peter does marketing consulting.

Libby Horn volunteers at a soup kitchen and at a hospice house. In the hospice, a dying person is admitted for the last three months of their life and receives care, mostly from volunteers, at no charge.

Jim Johnson’s Europe bicycle tour company is doing well, and Jim has been extending his love of bicycling with several volunteer endeavors. Jim serves on the board of Bike Walk Tennessee and is working on trail and greenway projects around Chattanooga, extending the U.S. Bicycle Route System across Tennessee and into adjacent states. The goal is to create a 50,000-mile network of connected on-road bike routes.

Norm Kerner has had a career in the music industry as a record producer, engineer, mixer, composer, and session musician. He runs his own studio, Perfect Sound Studios, in Hollywood Hills, and does real estate deals specializing in properties that have recording studios on site. Norm also volunteers for Food Forward, an organization that harvests California produce that otherwise would go to waste, and collects leftover produce at farmers’ markets for homeless shelters. To join the effort, e-mail him at norm@nkern.com.

Ely Leichtling is retired and volunteers in the Milwaukee public schools, tutoring several fourth graders in math, and teaching a seventh grade class focusing on a significant books like To Kill A Mockingbird. He also chaperones field trips. His wife, Sally, is also retired.

Susan Mitchell worked in railroad policy analysis after graduation, was a stay-at-home mom, and then went back to school and graduated with a master’s in pastoral care in 2000.  She spent 10-plus years working as a board certified hospice chaplain and is now semi-retired and volunteering at a continuing care facility, teaching bible study, and preaching at the ecumenical Christian services. Her son, Arthur, is a curator at the UPenn library and her daughter, Catherine, works in finance in D.C.  She stays in touch with Sue Heller Clain ’94.

Desmond (Stern) Whitney and his wife live in Minneapolis. They have a daughter who just graduated from college and a son with special needs. Desmond enjoys recording books for the blind each week.

This spring, Nancy ’78 and I have a daughter graduating from a master’s program and two others graduating from college. We both do volunteer work in our respective fields. Best wishes to everyone for 2017!

Mitchell Marinello | mlmarinello@comcast.net

Class of 1975 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Allison Galante ’20, Flushing, NY

Mike Minard, who traveled with blues giant Jonny Shines, turned 64 last year, and sent videos. One is a cover of the Beatles’ classic, featuring Mike, his wife, and granddaughter: youtube.com/watch?v=gyEyT6V3kBo. Catch the original musical, Amazing Grace, which Mike wrote with prisoners in New York’s maximum-security prison for women as a Rehabilitation Through the Arts volunteer facilitating music and theater: youtube.com/watch?v=jlxX0Fc2Y5w.

Dave Bickford is acting and vocal coaching in LA. He and wife Phenprapha went to Thailand for his stepson’s college graduation, to discover that only students and faculty attend, while families just take photos afterward! Phenprapha became a U.S citizen in March (Dave’s government major helped with test prep). A huge fan of all-female banked track roller derby, Dave was invited to coach the LA Derby Dolls’ All-Star team in a game.

Amy Bloom is now Wesleyan’s Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing. Her daughter reports from Brooklyn on Leslie Brett ’76, and Amy has lunch sometimes with Jose Goico ’74. Busy with a novel, working on a children’s book, happily married, and living in Stony Creek, a tiny village on Long Island Sound, Amy has three “beautiful and brilliant” grandchildren.

Get out those Wesleyan onesies! Three more classmates are grandparents: June Jeffries (Clara Marie Jeffries, February 2016), Cathy Gorlin (Solomon Bennett Epshteyn, March 2016), and Risa Korn (Arya Rose, September 2016). June saw Andy Barnes last summer presenting at a symposium in D.C. Cathy’s new grandson lures her frequently to NYC from Minnesota. She saw Christine McCoy McNeil and Kenneth Levinson on her last visit, and David Racher ’74 and his wife, Susan, in Miami.

Travel and transitions: Ellen Remmer and her husband took a sabbatical travelling in Southeast Asia for three months, including being in Myanmar during the power handover. She saw Shonni Silverberg ’76 and John Shapiro ’74 recently in Boston. Ellen’s eldest child is engaged. Michael Hamburger, on leave from Indiana University, served as a Jefferson Science Fellow with the U.S. State Department. Pat and Jeff McChristian traveled extensively with visits to Italy, Iceland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Lake Powell, Steamboat Springs, and to Greenville, S.C., to visit their now-married daughter. This summer was hiking/rafting in the Canadian Rockies with kids and their main squeezes. Back home, Jeff enjoys having Pat as CFO/COO of his law practice and running into Judge J.D. Moore in court or around West Hartford.

David Lipton’s third child, Gabriel ’16, graduated from Wesleyan as a government major. His oldest, Anna ’08, is an alumna. He signed on for another five-year term as number two at the International Monetary Fund, following fellow alum John Lipsky ’68.

Vinnie Broderick is well in New Hampshire and at Camp Pasquaney, where he is director. “Last fall, the lightweight crew from 1975 invited me to join their 40th anniversary boat rowing in the Head of the Charles. It was really good to catch up with them. I also visited with former roommate Dave Rosenthal during a quick visit to Baltimore.”

David Drake has the best job in the world: “I earned graduate degrees from UCLA and Harvard Graduate School of Education, and in 1990 started White Oak School in Westfield, Mass., a state-approved nonprofit school serving kids with dyslexia and related language-based learning disabilities. It’s incredibly rewarding work, and we’ve helped many hundreds of kids to read, spell, write, and believe in their potential to succeed and thrive.”

Many thanks to Cliff Chanin for this beautiful reminiscence of Seth Gelblum, who died last August. “Seth and I met freshman year and maintained a very close friendship that deepened over 45 years. We played poker at Eclectic, broadcast Cardinal b-ball games together, roomed at Clark Hall, and then, after graduation, were roommates in Manhattan, as we both started our post-Wes lives. Seth grew up in Philadelphia and Chapel Hill, but considered himself a New Yorker. He became the city’s preeminent theater lawyer and had a guiding hand in almost every significant production, on Broadway and off, for decades. He was beloved and respected by his colleagues. Directors George Wolfe and Des McAnuff spoke at his memorial about Seth’s commitment to their work and how a professional relationship had, for each of them, turned to a deep friendship. Afterwards, the lights of the Broadhurst, Gershwin, and New Amsterdam theaters were dimmed in Seth’s honor. In 2016, Seth became the only lawyer ever to earn the Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from New Dramatists, a leading developer of new playwrights, whose board he chaired. Seth was a founding board member of Lawyers for Children, started by Karen Freedman, which is a national model for representation of children in family court. Seth and his wife, Orren Alperstein, founded the Canavan Foundation, which developed genetic screening and counseling programs for the rare neurological disorder that killed their daughter, Morgan, in 1997. Orren, their children Madeleine and Aidan, and brothers Peter ’73 and Rob ’72 survive Seth. I can’t end without highlighting Seth’s remarkable spirit, particularly as his cancer gained the upper hand after years of determined resistance and many, lengthy treatments. His generosity and humanity simply expanded. It was a profound thing to behold, and underscores what a loss his family and friends have suffered.” Along with Cliff and Karen, Steve Greenhouse spoke at Seth’s memorial.

This fall I talked to and almost managed to see Debbie Kosich near Boston where she and I were visiting our mothers. Sadly, my mom died in December at the age of 95.

Cynthia M. Ulman | cmu.home@cmugroup.com
860 Marin Drive. Mill Valley, CA 94941-3955

Class of 1974 Endowed University Scholarship

Rami Hamati ’19, Manja, Jordan

During Homecoming weekend in October, women of our class celebrated our fifth Women’s Gathering at Wesleyan.  The celebration was suggested by Pam van der Meulen and organized by Nancy Stack, Sharon Purdie, and Pam. Attendees included Nancy, Pam, Sharon, Carolyn White, Judy Atwood, Jean Barish, Adrienne Bentman, and Lyn Lauffer. Plans are to have the next Gathering at our 45th Reunion in 2019. Women of our class, add it to your calendar!

Jane Burns provided the following update: “I live in La Jolla, Calif., and have been a professor at UCSD for the last 25 years. I study Kawasaki disease and am the director of the KD Research Center at UCSD and Rady Children’s Hospital.

“I received my M.D. degree at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1978 and completed my pediatric residency and chief residency at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Colo. In 1983, I moved to Harvard Medical School and the Boston Children’s Hospital for additional training in pediatric infectious diseases and molecular virology. I joined the faculty at Harvard in 1986 and in 1990 moved to San Diego, where I joined the faculty at the University of California as an assistant professor.

“I moved up through the ranks and was appointed professor of pediatrics in 1999. I was appointed chief of the division of allergy, immunology, and rheumatology in 2000. In 2013, I stepped down from this position to devote all of my energies to Kawasaki disease research and KD patient care.

“Currently, I am director of the Kawasaki Disease Research Center at UCSD/Rady Children’s Hospital where I lead a multidisciplinary team that cares for 80-100 new Kawasaki disease patients each year and follows over 1,300 families in the KD Clinic.

“My passion for studies of Kawasaki disease has spanned more than three decades with my first publication on KD in 1982. In addition to my academic pursuits, I am the mother of two daughters, now age 31 and 35. My husband, John B. Gordon M.D., is an interventional cardiologist at the San Diego Cardiac Center who cares for adults with long-term sequelae of KD.”

Jan Eliasberg reports: “At a time when many directors’ careers are winding down, mine is firing on all cylinders, for which I’m deeply grateful. I’ve directed several episodes of CBS’ new hit series Bull, starring Michael Weatherly (formerly of NCIS), as well as ABC’s Conviction. I’ve also been chosen as one of 10women directors to work with Twentieth Century Fox on “re-booting” some of their biggest franchise films. I pitched a concept for Die Hard and will be working with Fox executives on developing my director’s take.

“On a more serious note, I reconnected with many Wesleyan friends at Seth Gelblum ’75’s memorial service. I knew Seth from Wesleyan and have been friends with his wife, Orren Alperstein, since grade school. The memorial was a magnificent testament to Seth’s warmth, commitment, passion, and huge heart. In tribute, the Shubert Theatre’s marquee was dimmed, something that honors the theatre greats—an honor Seth certainly deserved.

“My daughter, Sariel ’19, is a junior at Wesleyan, double-majoring in American Studies and film; it’s a great joy to see her reveling in her Wesleyan experience as I did. The essential values of the school remain unchanged.”

Jerri Stroud retired from the Better Business Bureau in St. Louis as of Jan. 31, 2017, after eight years with BBB (and 33 years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before that). A move to Seattle could be in the offing, but nothing definite yet.

Monique Witt reports that, “we are still moving ahead with the discs in the cue: my son’s disc, Instead, will drop in March, Juan Carlos Polo’s Insomnio released in Peru and here in the U.S. this past month (Peruvian drumming). SaRon Crenshaw’s upcoming blues album is in the mastering phase and Wayne Tucker’s next album is in late mixing phase.

“Katini’ Yamaoka’s album Gone released to great reviews, and we’ve been getting tremendous press for Ben Sutin’s Tangibility. That end is good. However, one of the most extraordinary jazz trios I’ve ever recorded is breaking up to do real property development, medicine, and rock and roll. It breaks my heart, as it speaks volumes on how difficult it is for great musicians to make a living now, even when they’re booking world tours (as these guys are). The pianist said, “I want to do more than just survive. While it is wonderful to follow one’s passion, after 30, the reality of rent and medical coverage takes a huge toll on artists in every genre. So I’d urge anyone who can to support an artist.

“When I’m not doing the music, I’m working on a manuscript on modern war crimes and re-thinking the Rome Convention. Fascinating from the perspective of cosmopolitanism.  Boys are good.  Elder is enjoying married life; younger is crazy busy playing piano. Husband is contemplating moving us to Canada (joking sort of).”

Bob Baum survived a kitchen remodel—doubled the number of windows overlooking the Connecticut River and the Dartmouth campus. Became grandparents for the second time (two boys), spent a semester with religion students in Edinburgh, Scotland—a beautiful and relaxing time.

Claudia Catania reports: “After a long and courageous battle, Seth Gelblum ’75 passed away in August of 2016. He had recently won the first Tony honor ever bestowed on a lawyer. Living at the crossroads of almost every major theatrical deal, he was responsible for the unseen, but critical moves that make Broadway theater happen. He was the esteemed mentor, counselor, protector and friend to so many illustrious artistic figures that create contemporary theater. His widow, Orren Alperstein, orchestrated a beautiful memorial service according to his wishes. His brothers Peter Gelblum ’73 and Robert Gelblum ’72 and his sister, Laura, spoke of their childhood in North Carolina. His Wesleyan roommate, Cliff Chanin ’75, remembered him movingly. Steven Greenhouse ’73 recounted later years.

“There were many Wesleyan friends in attendance. I know I missed a number from our class like Anne Jacobs, but I did talk to Jan Eliasburg, Harold Sogard, Willy Holtzman, John Shapiro, Shonni Silverberg ’76, Steve Ross ’75, Vicky Bijur ’75, and John Raskin ’73. As we exited the beautiful service, the Broadhurst Theatre’s lights dimmed for a few minutes and Seth’s jovial face smilingly graced the illuminated overhead marquee billboard.

“John Cady ’71 and I have two sons. Gavin, 26, and his wife are opening their second restaurant in New Orleans. I urge you to sample their first, 1000 Figs! His mother proclaims it is sensational food. Our older son, Max, 29, having taught for three years in Cambodia at an innovative new school, Liger Learning Center, returned to the States to attend grad school at Harvard for a degree in innovation and technology in education. He now teaches digital art at High Tech High, an experiential learning charter school north of San Diego.

“I am the producing artistic director of a public radio show and podcast called Playing on Air and I shamelessly urge you to subscribe to its podcast. It’s short 10-20 minute plays are written and performed by our nation’s best. A shot of humanity in this rocky time ain’t a bad thing.”

Update from Sharon Purdie: “I continue to spend May-October in Jamestown, R.I., enjoying boating, biking, and swimming. November through April we live in Vero Beach, Fla., with the exception of six weeks in the winter when we ski in Park City, Utah. I try to visit Wesleyan at least once a year during the time we’re in Rhode Island. In November, I completed my first triathlon and placed first in my age group. Our son, Jeff Sybertz, graduates from Stern School of Business (NYU) in May. Our daughter, Sherry Sybertz ’10, graduated from Middlebury Institute of International Studies with an MBA in May and now works for Dole Food Company in Monterey, Calif.”

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

Donald Zilkha writes that he and Virginia have three sons and says, “With any luck, my youngest will apply to Wesleyan.” Don has spent much of his career as an investor in restructuring, venture, and private equity, including Colt’s Manufacturing in Hartford. He’s had “the good fortune to have traveled extensively, often for business.” He has also lived abroad for several years and is “quite involved in food and wine.”

Daoud Haroon spent summer 2015 engaged in “continued musical and spiritual research” in Thailand with an interesting stay in Istanbul. He spent portions of the month of Ramadan in both countries. Last May and June, he and his wife spent a “chilly South African winter” in Johannesburg in Soweto and the outlying townships. He made many new friends among the growing dance and arts communities that surround both: Moving Into Dance Mophatong [midance.co.za] and Artist Proof Studio [artistproofstudio.co.za].

They also stayed for a month at a guest house located in Camps Bay, on the ocean side of Table Mountain, between Hout Bay and downtown Cape Town. He reports, “Contrary to popular belief in the States, apartheid is still alive and thriving in South Africa under ever new guises.” He had an opportunity to interview a broad scope of whites and blacks from many diverse racial, ethnic, and political backgrounds and, “they all agree that, like racism in America, apartheid will continue to flourish for a long time into the distant future.”

He continues to practice his instruments and is now trying to write a story a day. Anyone interested in his adventures can check him out on mancebomosaic.com.

After a long absence, Edward “Eddie” Nathan, one of my senior year roommates from East College, says he had little contact with Wesleyan, except to “chide it for having discontinued my alumni magazine. I used the conversation to inform the Wes rep of my singular contribution to Wesleyan history: the prefix “Wes,” which I had attached to our athletic teams as a reporter, and later sports editor, at The Argus, e.g., Wescrew, Weslax. Imagine my thrill, many years later, when the admission office invited me to mail in a ‘Wescheck’ in support of my older daughter’s application.” He concludes, “This is as close to immortality as I am likely to come.”

George “Bud” Brainard is a professor of neurology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Since the 1980s, he has taught medical school and done research on the biological and behavioral effects of light on humans. He says, “My laboratory has worked with NASA on various light-related projects. In 2008, we began collaborating with Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center (JSC), and Harvard on developing and testing a solid-state lighting system to be used on the International Space Station (ISS).”

His lab was honored with the JSC Director’s Award for Innovation in 2015. As of early January, eight of the solid-state lights they helped develop were installed on ISS. “Ultimately, all of the lights in the U.S. portion of the space station will be replaced with the new solid-state lighting,” he says. They are doing a study on astronauts on the ISS to see if this new lighting system can improve sleep and daytime alertness.

Over the years, he sees classmate Fred Markham on a routine basis since he is also on the faculty at Jefferson. He periodically sees classmates Steve Kallaugher and enthusiastically supports Steve’s work on the Young Heroes Foundation. He periodically sees Mickey Rubinstein, and once in awhile Steve Grilli, Steve Berman ’72, Jim Shepherd ’72, and honorary classmate, Donny Shea.

Martin G. Bunin has joined Farrell Fritz’s Bankruptcy & Restructuring Practice Group as partner. The law firm says, “Marty’s experience includes the representation of committees in Chapter 11 cases, with an emphasis on unsecured creditors’ committees in cases filed by hospitals and other healthcare businesses, resort hotels, manufacturers, service businesses and owners of real estate. Additionally, Marty is a mediator in bankruptcy and bankruptcy-related disputes in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere.”

Sheryl Richter says that after her husband passed away more than four years ago, she met a “terrific guy” through online dating. His spouse had also passed away. She and Evan Feist, DVM, were married on Dec. 13. They share common interests, including golf and duplicate bridge, although, she adds, “I don’t think it’s fair to lump my golf into the same sentence as his (he’s a single-digit handicap golfer).”

Finally, there is sad news to report about Garrett J. Delehanty, known as an avid golfer, reader, and traveler, and for his sense of humor and the stories he would tell about his family. Garrett died last Nov. 13 at the age of 64 after being hospitalized for an illness. He had just celebrated 40 years of practicing commercial real estate law.

Until next time,

Peter D’Oench | Pgdo10@aol.com